You are here

Kansas

OpenCalais Metadata: Latitude:

38.45

OpenCalais Metadata: Longitude:

-96.5333

While sophomore guard Isaiah Taylor had 17 points and eight assists to go along with six rebounds, a few errors in the final minute led to a loss for the Longhorns to Kansas on Saturday, 69-64. The Longhorns dropped to 17–12 on the season and 6–10 in conference play with the loss.

With hopes of an NCAA tournament berth hanging in the balance, Texas men’s basketball came close to pulling off an improbable victory in college basketball’s toughest road venue Saturday.

But, as it almost always seems to do, No. 8 Kansas once again found a way to win in front of its home crowd.

Now, with just two games remaining on the schedule, Texas finds itself in jeopardy of missing the tournament for the second time in three seasons.

The Longhorns will fight Monday to keep their postseason hopes alive when they return home to face Baylor, which handed them their worst loss of the season last month in Waco. For a chance at redemption versus the Bears, Texas will need to quickly put Saturday’s tough loss in Lawrence, Kansas behind it.

The Longhorns led well into the second half in the 69–64 loss to the Jayhawks, leading by as many as 6 points with under 10 minutes remaining. But Kansas got hot from the field and the free throw line late, closing the game out with a 16–10 run in the final 6:52 to ice the victory.

Kansas junior forward Perry Ellis was at the forefront of that second-half surge, scoring 12 points in the final 9:30 of the second half. He finished the game with 28 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. It marked the third consecutive 20-point game for Ellis, who has emerged as a front-runner for Big 12 Player of the Year.

Texas missed on a couple of opportunities late to tie the game. With Texas trailing 66–64 with 48.3 seconds remaining, sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor missed the front end of a one-and-one. Then, with the score the same and 6.1 seconds remaining, Taylor missed an off-balance layup attempt on a play in which he appeared to be fouled — though the referees didn’t call it.

Taylor led the Longhorns with 17 points and eight assists to go along with six rebounds, but the final minute didn’t go as hoped.

Despite Ellis’ impressive game, the Longhorns turned in one of their better defensive performances of the season. They held Kansas to just 36.2 percent shooting from the field and, remarkably, limited the sweet-shooting Jayhawks to just one made 3-pointer in eight attempts.

Texas’ interior defense was especially impressive. Freshman forward Myles Turner racked up five blocks in the game, while junior center Prince Ibeh had four. Texas had 14 blocks in the game.

With the victory, Kansas improved to a perfect 15–0 at home this season. The Jayhawks have now won 24 consecutive home games, and improved to a remarkable 189–9 at Allen Fieldhouse under head coach Bill Self.

The Longhorns dropped to 17–12 on the season and 6–10 in conference play with the loss. A victory would’ve greatly improved their résumé as they try to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament, and now, with just two games remaining, they’re very much on the bubble to make the Big Dance.

A win over Baylor might at least keep Texas in the discussion for a NCAA tournament berth. A loss at home to the Bears, however, would damage their postseason hopes even further.

With hopes of an NCAA Tournament berth hanging in the balance, Texas men’s basketball came close to pulling off an improbable victory in college basketball’s toughest road venue Saturday.

But, as it almost always seems to do, No. 8 Kansas once again found a way to win in front of its home crowd.

The Longhorns led well into the second half in the 69-64 loss to the Jayhawks, leading by as many as six points with under 10 minutes remaining. But Kansas got hot from the field and the free throw line late, closing the game out on a 16-10 run to ice the victory.

Junior forward Perry Ellis was at the forefront of that late surge, scoring 12 points in the final 9:30 of the second half. He finished the game with 28 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. It marked the third consecutive 20-point game for Ellis, who has emerged as a front-runner for Big 12 Player of the Year.

Texas missed out on a couple of opportunities to tie the game late. With Texas trailing 66-64 and 48.3 seconds remaining, sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor missed the front end of a one-and-one. Then, with the same score and 6.1 seconds remaining, Taylor missed an off-balance lay-up attempt on a play where he appeared to be fouled, but the referees didn’t call it.

Taylor led the Longhorns with 17 points and eight assists to go along with six rebounds, but he wasn't able to finish the game the way he hoped.

Despite Ellis’ impressive game, the Longhorns turned in one of their better defensive performances of the season. They held Kansas to just 36.2 percent shooting from the field and surprisingly limited the sweet-shooting Jayhawks to just one made three-pointer in eight attempts.

Texas’ interior defense was especially impressive. Freshman forward Myles Turner racked up five blocks in the game, while junior center Prince Ibeh had four. Texas as a whole had 14 blocks in the game.

The Jayhawks managed to overcome their struggles from the field with a strong day at the free throw line. They finished the game 26-of-32 from the line, where the Longhorns went just 12-of-18.

With the victory, Kansas improved to a perfect 15-0 at home this season. The Jayhawks have now won 24 consecutive road games, and they improved to a remarkable 189-9 at Allen Fieldhouse under head coach Bill Self.

The Longhorns dropped to 17-12 on the season and 6-10 in conference play with the loss. A victory would’ve greatly improved their resume as they try to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but now, with just two games remaining, they’re very much on the bubble to make the Big Dance.

They appeared close to finally earning a season-changing signature victory, but once again, they learned why many refer to Allen Fieldhouse as “the best home field advantage in sports.”

Junior forward Connor Lammert and Texas controlled most of the game against Kansas on Jan. 24, but ultimately fell short. Since then, the Longhorns have nearly fallen out of the NCAA tournament picture.

Things were a lot different for Texas the first time it played Kansas late last month.

The Longhorns were 14–4, fresh off a blowout victory over TCU that pushed them to 3–2 against the Big 12. Sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor was back from the broken left wrist that caused him to miss 10 games; junior center Cameron Ridley was playing his best basketball of the season; in the midst of a two-game win streak, the Longhorns appeared poised to make a run at the top spot in the conference.

Leading by as many as five points with under 14 minutes remaining in the second half, the Longhorns looked in control against the Jayhawks. But it’s been a far different story ever since.

The Longhorns scuffled in those final 14 minutes against Jayhawks, scoring just 18 points to Kansas’ 36. They failed to rebound after that loss, dropping their next three, and, after a three-game win streak over the Big 12’s bottom feeders, they dropped three more in a row to fall to 6–9 in conference play — good for just eighth place in the Big 12, where they stand now.

With 17 wins on the season and just three regular season games remaining on the schedule, the Longhorns are firmly on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, so every game is crucial. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, Texas plays Kansas again Saturday — this time at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, perhaps the toughest road venue in all of sports.

The Jayhawks are a perfect 13–0 at home this season, and they haven’t lost there since early last year, when San Diego State snapped the Jayhawks’ 68-game home win streak against non-conference foes. They’ve won 22 straight home games since.

A road win would provide the Longhorns with the signature win they’ve been searching for this season. They played close with Kansas in Austin last month, but the Jayhawks are a different team in front of their home fans, and this is a vital game for Kansas too.

The Jayhawks, who have won at least a share of the Big 12 for a 10th consecutive season, are 11–4 this season in conference play. Iowa State, Oklahoma and West Virginia sit just one game back of Kansas with three to play. While the Jayhawks control their own destiny, losing against Texas would complicate their road to an 11th consecutive Big 12 title.

The Longhorns’ once-promising season has plummeted since those final 14 minutes against Kansas back in Austin last month. They have a chance turn things back around this Saturday and keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive, but, at Allen Fieldhouse, it figures to be anything but easy.

Saturday’s matchup between Kansas and Texas in Lawrence could’ve been the deciding game in the Big 12. But after an abysmal 6-8 start in Big 12 play, Texas is no longer in play for the Big 12 title.

Despite Texas’ poor start, ESPN announced its “College GameDay” program will do a one-hour pregame show at Allen Fieldhouse before the afternoon contest.

The "College GameDay" crew will start the day with its morning show at Wichita State before making the trek to Lawrence.

This is the second time this year the "College GameDay" show will broadcast from a Big 12 venue.

Two Big 12 point guards up for awards

Two Big 12 point guards became finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award on Friday.

Iowa State sophomore Monté Morris and West Virginia senior Juwan Staten are two of 17 finalists for the award, which is given to the country’s top collegiate point guard.

Morris currently leads the nation with a 4.55 assist-to-turnover ratio, one year after setting an NCAA record with a 4.79 ratio. He also leads the Big 12 with 5.57 assists per game and is averaging 11.4 points per game.

Meanwhile, Staten has proven himself as a scorer with 13.5 points per game and 5.08 assists per game. His biggest moment this season came last week when he scored a last-second layup to lead the Mountaineers to a win over Kansas.

The winner of the Bob Cousy Award will be announced April 10.

Staten, McKay win weekly conference awards

In addition to being named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, Staten also took home the Big 12 Player of the Week award, which the conference announced Monday.

Staten averaged 21 points in the two wins this week for West Virginia — both against ranked opponents. He posted a 51.7 field-goal percentage and made 60 percent of his three-point attempts.

Iowa State redshirt junior forward Jameel McKay took the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award after helping the Cyclones win back-to-back conference road games for the first time since 2006. Against Oklahoma State, the junior forward posted 17 points and 14 rebounds. He then followed up with a nine-rebound, three-block performance in the win against the Longhorns on Saturday.

Iowa State, West Virginia rise in AP Poll

Following big wins on Saturday, both Iowa State and West Virginia made gains in the latest AP rankings released Monday.

West Virginia tied for the most spots gained of any team in the poll, jumping up three positions to take the No. 20 spot after posting wins over Kansas and Oklahoma State. Iowa State moved up two positions to No. 12 after posting two-straight road victories against Oklahoma State and Texas.

Oklahoma State fell out of the rankings after back-to-back losses. Texas, meanwhile, received only one vote in the rankings.

With a slew of absences on the court, head coach Karen Aston has been forced to switch things up.

Freshman guards Brooke McCarty and Ariel Atkins have been thrust into starting roles. Even freshman forward Diani Akigbogun, who hadn’t seen the court since last semester, played in the latest game.

Despite the pressure put on the two freshman guards to be major contributors, they give the Longhorns a big boost.

Atkins is averaging 11.4 points per game over the last five, while playing more than 30 minutes a game. McCarty was just named Big 12 Freshman of the Week after averaging 13.5 points and 3.5 assists during the past week.

“You could tell [McCarty] was really in control of the she moved her body,” Aston said.

Atkins and McCarty have started the past seven games and hope to build on their first conference road win where the Longhorns went up to Kansas to get. While in Lawrence, Kansas, the Longhorns also scored their most points since Jan. 19.

“[McCarty] played an energetic game and we need more of that,” Aston said after the last game. “She wasn’t afraid to take the shots.”

Falling in their first six road conference games, the Longhorns (16–8, 5–8 Big 12) finally broke through at Kansas with a 74–63 victory to end the road skid as well as a four-game losing streak. Four players scored in the double digits, including McCarty and Atkins.

“I thought we had so many players step up,” Aston said after the win Saturday night against the Jayhawks.

The Longhorns look to carry that momentum and start a winning streak of their own when they host Kansas State at the Frank Erwin Center at 7 p.m.

Kansas State (15–9, 5–8 Big 12) has other ideas, though, as it is searching for its first season sweep against Texas since 2012. In the first matchup between the two, Kansas State rallied from a halftime deficit to win by 9 points. During the game, sophomore forward Nekia Jones went down with a left knee injury that has her out indefinitely.

However, this time around, Kansas State will be on Texas’ court, giving the Longhorns a distinct advantage. In the Frank Erwin Center, dating back to last year, Texas is 26–4 and holds a +18.4 scoring margin.

Trying to take advantage of Texas’ young backcourt, Kansas State will pressure the Texas guards and try to force them into mistakes. Kansas State currently has a Big 12-leading 275 steals this season. Turnovers haven’t been Texas’ problem this season, though, as it is averaging its lowest amount of turnovers per game (16.2) in the last five seasons.

The Wildcats head into Austin fresh off an overtime loss to Texas Tech on Sunday.

After putting together a dominant stretch early this month in which it won three straight games by at least 18 points, No. 20 Baylor has fallen on hard times in the past week.

The Bears dropped back-to-back games against Oklahoma State and Kansas to slip to 6–6 in conference play. Their biggest issues have come from behind the arc, as they went just 11-of-38 (29 percent) from the perimeter in those two losses after going 24-of-49 (49 percent) from behind the arc during their three-game win streak.

Fortunately for the Bears, their remaining schedule isn’t too demanding. Only two of their final six games are against ranked opponents, including two against Texas Tech (2–11 Big 12).

Nash, Ellis named Co-Big 12 Player of the Week

Oklahoma State senior forward Le’Bryan Nash and Kansas junior forward Perry Ellis were named Co-Big 12 Players of the Week on Monday.

Nash, who averaged 20.5 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals in the Cowboys’ two games last week, is in the midst of his finest season at Oklahoma. He’s averaging career-highs this year with 17.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Monday marked the second time in his career, the first this season, that he’s earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors.

Ellis averaged 16 points and 7.5 rebounds in Kansas’ two wins last week. He became the 56th player in Kansas history to reach the 1,000 career points mark in Saturday’s win over Baylor.

Buddy Hield on red-hot streak

Oklahoma junior guard Buddy Hield has been on quite the run lately.

Hield, who leads the Big 12 in scoring, has scored in double figures in 19 consecutive games. He’s been especially good in conference play, scoring at least 20 points in six of his 13 games against Big 12 opponents.

Hield is setting career-bests this season with 17.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and he’s been the biggest reason behind the Sooners’ climb to third place in the Big 12 standings.

Iowa State a different team on the road

No. 14 Iowa State, along with No. 8 Kansas, has been one of the two best teams in the Big 12 all season long. But the Cyclones haven’t been nearly as good on the road this season as they have been at home.

The Cyclones are just 2–4 on the road this season, including 1–4 against Big 12 teams. They’ve lost four consecutive games against conference opponents, including one against bottom-feeding Texas Tech.

It hasn’t mattered much though, as Iowa State has used its 16–2 home record to remain in good shape for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. Still, their struggles on the road don’t look for their hopes in the tournament, where all of the games are played at neutral sites.

The Cyclones will look to reverse their road woes Wednesday against No. 22 Oklahoma State.

Boasting four Longhorns with double-digit figures, Texas collected its first conference road victory against Kansas, 74–63, on Saturday.

Texas played calmly in the first half, and its defense locked down early, holding the Jayhawks to 28 percent shooting. Freshman guard Ariel Atkins scored 15 points in the first half — more than half of Texas’ points in the period — but the Longhorns’ abysmal shooting and 10 turnovers gave them only a 1-point lead at halftime.

Texas improved its perimeter shooting from 33 percent in the first 20 minutes to 67 percent in the second half. Although Kansas shaved the deficit to 3 points midway through the second half, Texas showed resilience and continued to stay aggressive. Drawing fouls often, the Longhorns attempted 30 free throws and shot 73 percent from the charity stripe.

“They never got frustrated when Kansas made a run,” head coach Karen Aston said. “They didn’t get frustrated when they made mistakes. They stayed very calm, and I thought we executed some things really well.”

The Longhorns (16–8, 5–8 Big 12) received contributions from all their healthy players, including bench players, in the full-team effort. Sophomore guard Brianna Taylor, who started the game, scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, while junior center Imani McGee-Stafford came off the bench to record her third double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

“Imani had some great minutes off the bench, and Taylor was really solid,” Aston said. “I thought Ariel did a great job of playing the game. Our guards made better decisions off the [Kansas] zone [defense].”

Texas dominated the Jayhawks on the boards, outrebounding them, 50–27, including 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 17 second-chance points. Texas is now 15–2 when it scores more than 60 points but is 1–6 when scoring less than 60 points.

“Obviously we’ve handled some adversity, and sometimes it’s been good and sometimes not,” Aston said. “I’m really pleased with the team.”

The Longhorns look to continue their momentum at home Wednesday against Kansas State.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Taylor led the Longhorns to victory against Kansas State in its vaunted “Octagon of Doom.”

Winning in Manhattan, Kansas, hasn’t come easy for the Longhorns. They lost the past four games at Bramlage Coliseum, which were often followed by chants of “We own Texas” from the stands.

But Texas’ win at Kansas State this past weekend was big.

After a surprisingly successful 2013–2014 campaign and the addition of freshman forward Myles Turner, the Longhorns were slated to dethrone Kansas from the Big 12 perch. Before the season, Texas was considered a national title contender, and the Longhorns lived up to expectations, starting off hot with a 10–1 record — the only loss coming at the hands of No. 1 Kentucky.

But since then, Texas has lost seven of its last 13 games. And after completing the first half of Big 12 play, Texas is far from the promised land.

However, the Longhorns should use the win against the Wildcats to as a springboard gain momentum as they head into the second half of conference play.

With a 4–6 record in the Big 12, The Longhorns currently rank eighth in the conference. Texas’ next two opponents are TCU and Texas Tech, who both have nine losses in the Big 12.

If the Longhorns find wins against the Horned Frogs and Red Raiders, Texas would be on a three-game winning streak and would have a conference record above .500. With a winning streak in hand, the Longhorns may gain the confidence they need to finish the season strong.

“Confidence is still high,” sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor said. “We are still a good team. We still have good players on this team.”

But in order to turn its season around, Texas will need better play from Taylor. Taylor is averaging 14.5 points per game, but, at times, he still looks hesitant to make a move. The Longhorns got a lot out of Taylor in their win against Kansas State, but Texas needs him to play consistently as the season winds down.

With the next two games against weaker teams, Texas has an opportunity to get its season back on track. The Longhorns are far from where they hoped to be, but they can get close to their goal if they can build off their win against the Wildcats.

“We put it all together, and we can go on a run,” head coach Rick Barnes said. “It’s not about a run, though. It’s about tomorrow.”

Le’Bryan Nash and the Oklahoma State Cowboys upset conference power Kansas 67—62 on Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

In their decade-long dominance of the Big 12, the Kansas Jayhawks have struggled at Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Kansas entered its matchup at Oklahoma State on Saturday, having lost three of the last five games it played in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Jayhawks looked poised to improve their record at Stillwater, with an 11-point lead at halftime.

But the Cowboys came out of the break with a 14–1 run to take a 44–42 lead with 16 minutes left in the game and hung on during the final minutes to pull off the upset.

After drilling 56 percent of its shots in the first half, Kansas struggled to shoot from the floor in the final 20 minutes, making only 27 percent of its attempts.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State shot 46 percent from the field in its comeback during the second half and made 75 percent of its free throws in the final frame to close out the win.

Trio of Big 12 team rise in AP Poll

After posting big wins Saturday, three teams from the Big 12 saw their stock rise in the latest AP Poll.

Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State each jumped at least three spots in the rankings Monday. Oklahoma State made the biggest leap, moving up from unranked to No. 21 after an upset win at home over Kansas.

The Bears moved up three spots to No. 16 following an 18-point victory at West Virginia, and Oklahoma moved up four spots to No. 17 after a win at TCU.

Despite the loss to Oklahoma State, Kansas remained in the top ten at No. 8. Iowa State fell to No. 14 after being trounced by the Jayhawks on Feb. 2.

Texas fell out of the rankings for the first time this season following its overtime loss to Oklahoma State last Wednesday.

Gathers, Hickey take home Big 12 awards

As Baylor rises through the Big 12 and the national rankings, junior forward Rico Gathers is one of its key players. This past week, Gathers dominated the court for the Bears in their wins over TCU and West Virginia, earning the Big 12 Player of the Week award for the second time in three weeks.

Gathers dominated the glass, collecting 17 rebounds in each game. He currently leads the Big 12 in rebounds with 12.5 rebounds per game — four more than the No. 2 player. He also averaged 15.5 points in the two games.

For Oklahoma State, senior guard Anthony Hickey played a key role in its upset over Kansas. Hickey scored 15 points against the Jayhawks — including the last four points for the Cowboys to the seal the win — and took the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award for the second time this season.

Hickey also posted 15 points in the Cowboys win over Texas earlier in the week and went five-of-nine behind the three-point line. He also snagged six steals and five rebounds during the week.

When junior center Cam Ridley has scored in double-digits in Big 12 play, the Longhorns were 3-0. But in each of the four losses, Ridley has scored fewer than 10 points, and Texas has taken more outside shots.

Fresh off their second consecutive loss and fourth defeat of conference play, the Longhorns enter Saturday’s road game against No. 20 Baylor desperate for a win.

If they fail to leave Waco with a victory, the team’s already remote chance of earning a regular season Big 12 title will likely be over.

In the past two seasons, the winner of the Big 12 finished conference play with only four losses. And in each of the seven years before that, the conference champion finished with fewer defeats than that. Texas already sits at 3–4 in conference play with little room to add to the loss column.

Not losing again is far easier said than done. Texas has struggled to take advantage of its size against No. 9 Kansas and No. 15 Iowa State. The team frequently settled for outside jumpers instead of getting the ball down low.

Even though the Longhorns finally found their 3-point stroke late in their loss to the Cyclones on Monday, they realize their real strength is an edge in size.

“We know that we are an inside-out team,” sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor said. “We have a lot of size in the inside. We have plays where we get it to our bigs.”

Baylor presents a different challenge in its above-average size for a Big 12 team, especially in junior forward Rico Gathers, who leads the team with 11.9 rebounds per game.

Although Baylor rivals the Longhorns, Texas still has the size edge with 6-foot-9 senior center Cam Ridley and 6-foot-11 freshman forward Myles Turner. Texas must feature these big men as much as possible, taking advantage of their size.

The Longhorns have also struggled in recent games on defense. Their 2-3 zone has been exposed, as the guards on both Kansas and Iowa State had little trouble getting past Texas’ perimeter defenders.

Baylor also boasts a talented squad of perimeter players, including junior forward Taurean Prince, who leads the Bears with 12.2 points per game. Senior guard Kenny Chery also averages 11.0 points per game and rarely leaves the floor.

While Texas tries to make these adjustments, head coach Rick Barnes said the team needs to make changes quickly to keep any hope of a Big 12 title alive.

“I think there is a sense of urgency every game,” Barnes said after the Kansas loss. “There is a long way to go. … I do believe that we could win every game we play. I think we could go on a run and do it, but we aren’t going to do that until we understand what goes into it.”